The Otters' Magical Focus Ring

 

 

What we have here is an unusual find, indeed. The ring before you has, after considerable research, been traced back to a group of woodland druids known as The Otters. As the Order has been disbanded for some time now, it is unclear whether or not they referred to themselves by this moniker or if outside citizens bestowed the name upon them in either reverence or mockery. Regardless, this ring seemed to act as a magical Focus to enhance the range and magnitude of the spells they cast.

Originally, however, our scholars thought that the ring must have belonged to a mage. Druids rarely wear fine metals, you see, especially ones with precious stones such as the sapphires seen here. Mages, on the other hand, relish such pieces and are known to display them proudly and often.

Divination by our own mages revealed part of a command word for the ring which allowed us to work out the rest of the phrase (we believe), though at first it seemed to not do much. It was only upon submersion in water that we first believed the ring allowed underwater breathing. I should tell you, it does not. Please do not attempt to breathe underwater with this artifact. While many artifacts may yet exist which grant such a magical ability, this ring is not one of them. Allow me to explain.

We noted a very slight tremor near liquids when the command word was spoken, which prompted the Emporium scholars to conduct more experiments near water. Like many artifacts we unearth, this ring has lost nearly all of its enchantment…and indeed, by now may have lost it fully. But at the time, we found that swimming underwater with the ring seemed to allow brief seconds of water being spaciously removed from the user’s face. Not long after, we realized it only happened when their movements brought the ring by their head…for the ring itself was—on and off; again, the enchantment is all but gone by now—separating itself from the water around it.

This led us down a path toward lore about the Druids—The Otters, specifically—who were said to use their woodland magic to shape water as much, if not more, than the flora on dry land. Often, farmers would hire The Otters to reshape rivers and streams for irrigation to their crops during dry years, but the Druidic order would never allow permanent redirection against natural paths.

Their mastery over such rivers, streams, and even tidal patterns in harbors is legendary, however. Surely, you have also heard of their prowess and abilities. We are not sure which Druid this particular ring belonged to, but the silver pattern of wood encompassing a pattern of rough water, or perhaps river rocks, coupled with the anomalies near water and the trio of sapphires (a nod to the harmonious nature of their deity) has given us little doubt that this ring was worn by one of the more renowned practitioners of Nature Magic that our world has seen in the several Ages.

We hope you enjoy it, and that it brings you the harmony it brought them. And remember: it does not grant the ability to breathe underwater. We…we truly cannot stress this fact enough.